Maryland Office Relocators, B-291092, November 12, 2002

B-291092 Nov 12, 2002 Jump To VIEW DECISION RELATED PAGES GAO CONTACTS Highlights Also specifically required the offeror to specify how many crates were included in its fixed price and the cost of additional crates. Offerors were required to furnish "a firm fixed price for the transportation and related move services by move phase for the relocation of office contents. The solicitation advised that "[t]he FTC has determined that a majority of plastic packing crates will be utilized for this move. . . . A supplement of standard cardboard cartons will also be supplied by the moving contractor for a small amount of items that must remain packed beyond the crate rental period.". That is. Responding to a preproposal question as to how many crates were requested per phase and what percentage of containers should be crates versus cartons. View Decision Maryland Office Relocators, B-291092, November 12, 2002 DIGEST Attorneys DECISION Maryland Office Relocators (MOR) protests the Federal Trade Commission's (FTC) award of a contract to Office Movers, Inc. (OMI) under solicitation No. 29-2-Q-0022, for moving services. MOR challenges the evaluation of proposals. /1/ We deny the protest. The solicitation provided for award of a contract for transportation and related moving services to relocate several FTC bureaus and offices, including a total of approximately 513 employees, from two Washington, D.C. locations to a third over five phases (essentially five weekends). Offerors were required to furnish "a firm fixed price for the transportation and related move services by move phase for the relocation of office contents, furniture, equipment, libraries, files, supplies and common areas. The price should include cost and volume of all required packing materials." Solicitation at 17. The solicitation advised that "[t]he FTC has determined that a majority of plastic packing crates will be utilized for this move. . . . In addition, a supplement of standard cardboard cartons will also be supplied by the moving contractor for a small amount of items that must remain packed beyond the crate rental period." Solicitation at 6. (This reference to a rental period apparently referred to a separate requirement that the crates be available no later than 2 weeks prior to the move and for at least 1 week after the move phase, that is, for approximately 3 weeks.) Responding to a preproposal question as to how many crates were requested per phase and what percentage of containers should be crates versus cartons, FTC responded in writing that "[w]e have requested that the movers submit their estimate for packing crates and/or boxes as part of the RFP." Amend. 0002, Question 5. In a sworn declaration, the FTC facilities management specialist who coordinated the evaluation of proposals states that he advised vendors at the pre-bid conference that "only a handful of the hundreds of FTC employees who were relocating would be using cardboard boxes." FTC Facilities Management Specialist Declaration at 2. Offerors were required to specify in the pricing schedule the "[n]umber of packing crates included in the above price" for the base moving services, Solicitation at 17; offerors were required to include in their technical proposals the "[n]umber of cartons or crates included in 'Base Moving Services,'" id. at 14; and the additional/optional pricing section of the schedule included the requirement to provide a "[p]rice per additional crates." Id. at 4, 18. The solicitation elsewhere emphasized that "[t]he move contractor will provide all crates, cartons, tape, bubble wrap and other packing materials required for the move. All quotations should include the cost and quantity of crates, which are to be furnished by the Move Contractor." Id. at 6. In order to establish their "qualifications," offerors were required to include in their proposals a detailed description of their approach and qualifications, including resumes of the project manager and assistant project managers, references for prior moves, a discussion of the physical approach to moving, a detailed time schedule, a "[d]etailed breakdown of the number and deployment of supervisors, movers, packers, drivers, and additional staff," contingency plans, and a list of required equipment (as well as hourly rates for extra labor and equipment). Solicitation at 13-14. Proposals were to be evaluated in terms of Offerors understanding of the desired services, appropriate methodology, qualifications, and experience with similar projects, cost proposal and any other factors within the sole discretion of the FTC. Cost will be a significant, but not necessarily the only, determining factor in the decision. The FTC is not obligated to award a contract based on the lowest cost proposed. Solicitation at 15. OMI and MOR submitted proposals.